Relegation candidates Bath produced a battling performance against the odds at
Kingsholm but runaway Zurich Premiership leaders Gloucester still recorded their
13th win of the league campaign.
Fly-half Ludovic Mercier once again guided them home, kicking 19 points
through five penalties and conversions of second-half tries by hooker Olivier
Azam and wing Marcel Garvey.
But Bath belied such lowly and embarrassing Premiership status, giving
Gloucester a major fright and mocking pre-match predictions of a landslide home
victory.
Mike Catt, an attacking menace from start to finish, dropped two goals, with
lock Steve Borthwick scoring a try and wing Olly Barkley booting the rest of
Bath's points.
Bath were even denied a bonus point, thanks to Garvey's late solo dash, and
they remain 12th and last, with just six matches - against Northampton, London
Irish, Saracens, Newcastle, Wasps and Bristol Shoguns - left.
The visitors arrived at a sold-out Kingsholm after plunging to the Premiership
basement, courtesy of Newcastle's 17-12 victory over Leeds last night.
And they faced a Herculean task against the runaway league leaders, who went
into battle eight points above second-placed Sale Sharks.
Bath, victims of a club record 68-12 defeat on their last Kingsholm visit nine
months ago, were without Wales RBS 6 Nations squad members Gareth Cooper and
Gavin Thomas due to training commitments, so Andy Williams deputised at
scrum-half and James Scaysbrook replaced Thomas on the bench.
England centre Mike Tindall returned after missing Bath's game against
Leicester last weekend because of a hip injury, while Gloucester preferred
Junior Paramore to James Forrester in the back-row, and Jake Boer skippered the
side, with Phil Vickery sidelined through a back injury.
Bath made the early running as flankers Adam Vander and Andy Beattie launched
rampaging raids into Gloucester territory, but Mercier's trusty left boot
ensured a 3-0 lead on 13 minutes.
Mercier, who passed 500 Premiership points for Gloucester in just 36 games
last weekend, doubled the advantage four minutes later, leaving Bath to ponder
an early deficit.
But their response was both committed and courageous, stunning Gloucester
through a 10-point burst in just five minutes.
Catt dropped a short-range goal, before his brilliant 60m break from just
outside Bath's 22 had Gloucester defenders retreating at a rate of knots.
Gloucester looked to have cleared the initial danger, yet Bath won ruck ball
and spun possession wide, allowing Borthwick a rare try which Barkley
converted.
A stunned silence engulfed Kingsholm, especially as Gloucester boasted total
control at the set-scrums, but Bath's superior lineout through the work of
Borthwick and England's Danny Grewcock kept the visitors powering forward.
Mercier completed his penalty hat-trick three minutes before the break, and
Bath trooped off at half-time reduced to 14 men after referee Tony Spreadbury
sin-binned prop John Mallett following a forward skirmish.
With Mallett off the field, Gloucester knew that they had to make it count on
the scoreboard, and their opening try duly arrived on 49 minutes.
Bath found themselves under siege, and when Gloucester drove a close-range
line-out, French international Azam claimed the touchdown underneath a pile of
bodies.
Mercier nonchalantly landed the touchline conversion but Bath were determined
not to roll over and Catt's second drop-goal put them back in contention at
16-13 adrift.
Another Mercier penalty, this time after Bath's backs drifted offside,
suggested that Gloucester would finally start putting distance between the
teams, who were separated by 33 Premiership points and 11 places before
kick-off.
But Bath kept plugging away, reducing the arrears to three points through a
Barkley penalty that kept alive the prospect of an upset.
Mercier ensured that the Bath dream remained exactly that though, slotting
penalty number five and then converting Garvey's 80th-minute try.
Teams
Gloucester: Delport, Garvey, Fanolua, Todd, Simpson-Daniel,
Mercier, Gomarsall, Roncero, Azam, Deacon, Fidler, Cornwell,
Boer, Hazell, Paramore.
Replacements: Stuart-Smith, Beim, O'Leary, Fortey, Molloy, Buxton,
Eustace.
Tries: Azam, Garvey.
Cons: Mercier 2.
Pens: Mercier 5.
Bath: Perry, Voyce, Maggs, Tindall, Barkley, Catt, A. Williams,
Barnes, Humphries, Mallett, Borthwick, Grewcock, Beattie,
Vander, N. Thomas.
Replacements: Blake, Mears, Galasso, Crockett, Malone, Scaysbrook,
Lloyd.
Tries: Borthwick.
Cons: Barkley.
Pens: Barkley.
Drop Goals: Catt 2.
Att: 11,000
Ref: Dave Pearson (RFU).
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